Having your cake and eating it too.
Cliche as it may sound, the current run of Corvette "C5s" is exactly that. In one tightly bound wrapper, Chevrolet has created a car that not only goes like stink, but also has the capacity to be docile in traffic and well-mannered on demand. You don't even have to be polite. Now close your eyes and take a breath--let's test this concept. Imagine a Corvette so powerful as to easily crest the 520hp mark and still retain the manners of its butler-esque lineage--a polite titan, so to speak. A Corvette willing to hold its horses until called upon. Thus is the nature of the RK5 Sport Corvette.
This screaming yellow C5 Corvette is a terrific balance of power and style utilizing the impressive technologies developed, created, and packaged by RKSport of Oceanside, California. RKSport built its reputation creating many high-quality, tasteful body-panel kits for F-body GM cars, Impalas, Monte Carlos, and Cavaliers/Sunfires. Its complete line of suspension and engine enhancement products for the Corvette turns a great thing into a truly significant road machine that redefines the Corvette aftermarket-component arena. Z06 or standard, RKSport's line is designed to embellish your enjoyment of '97 to new Corvettes.
The RKSport Corvette we drove was outfitted with a host of RKSport components. As noted, under the RKSport hood, the RK5 Supercharger package adds between 100 and 120 hp depending on the overdrive system you select. This simple kit does not require any internal modification of the original C5 engine and comes with a three-year or 36,000-mile warranty. The kit includes a high-flow intake manifold, a performance plenum, a throttle-body adaptor, a supercharger drive system, high-flow fuel rails, a pressure regulator, larger injectors, a micro-tuned electronic-control-unit upgrade, a mass airflow adaptor, and all the necessary hardware and detailed instructions. According to Dominick Consalvi, director of marketing for RKSport, the installation of this system via their trained installer takes one day. If this is a system you plan to install yourself, figure a little more time getting things together.
On the other end of the power package, Borla's Cat-Back stainless steel exhaust replaces the stock unit. Made from T404 stainless steel for long life and featuring low restriction, single flow for reduced backpressure, the Borla exhaust is a bonus in terms of performance and sound, especially between gear changes. Our RK5 featured a slightly modified expanded and boxed exhaust tip to fill the new RKSport rear fascia ... but more on that later.
Housing the new supercharged engine could have been a messy task. The RKSport supercharger adds approximately 5 inches to the height of the engine and requires a new hood. Not a problem for RKSport, which has been creating custom body panels and hoods since it opened its doors in 1993. The hood found on the RK5 Corvette is a special supercharger-designed "raised hood" that can be had in high-quality fiberglass or carbon fiber. The carbon-fiber hood used on the RK5 we drove had been painted to match the Corvette yellow body, leaving the carbon fiber exposed over the crest of the power-bulging hood. Structurally the hood is far superior to stock with complete underhood bracing, allowing use of all stock hardware for installation.
The body panel additions to our RK5 include a front air dam, side skirting, and a rear-end cap that are purely RKSport. All of the pieces were built from polyurethane using pressure-cast molds. RKSport designs its body panels as a package (they can be had separately as well) working with the design lines of the Corvette. Parts arrive gelcoated and ready for mounting, sanding, and painting.
In the suspension department, the RK5 was outfitted with Baer EradiSpeed disc-brake rotors to increase the braking potential of the Corvette, and Ronal 18x9.5-inch front and 19x10.5-inch wheels wrapped by big and sticky Yokohama AVS Sport tires plant it to the ground. An RKSport lowering kit was used in the rear to lower the car 2 inches, and up front the ball-joint adjusters were turned down, lowering the front 1 inch. In the cockpit, RKSport added all the comforts of home with white-faced instrument panel gauges, and yellow body-matching panels for the console, door panels, and dashboard. The same high quality used to create the exterior body panels has been carried over to the interior. No flimsy, poor fitment here.
As noted earlier, the docile nature of the standard Corvette is clearly present in the RK5: no poor idle characteristics and no excessive warm-up period. Just turn the key and it lights and idles smoothly. If there is any special driving technique, it is only that the front spoiler, which has been extended by the addition of the RKSport components, requires added care on abrupt driveways and dips. Not a big thing.
The supercharged engine power is there at low speeds--as low as 1,000 rpm. In fact, when dropping the gear selector into Fourth at 1,000 rpm and depressing the throttle, the engine accelerates smoothly throughout the rpm curve without revolt. But that is not the normal driving style, obviously. Driving correctly--making appropriate gear changes at the right rpm--nets a fluid driving experience. Mash the throttle and hang on. The whine of the supercharger is certainly there, but not objectionable. The best part of the acceleration process is the exhaust note that comes to greet you over the 3,500-rpm mark. It is a significant growl that, with the top down on the RK5, will cause you to turn off the radio and enjoy the engine note. No need for packing the CD disc changer with distracting stuff like music. This is a real No. 1 hit for Corvette fans.
Cornering maneuvers are very smooth, never taking driver control to the limit. As much of the original Corvette suspension is still intact, the lowering of the overall body (lower roller centers) is the greatest handling change. In the braking department, the Baer EradiSpeed brakes are excellent. The best thing that can be said here is that there is no real seat-of-the-pants difference in braking feel, but there is that back-of-the-brain knowledge that stopping distances are better now than before. The RK5 Corvette is quick and agile and a joy to drive.
The RK5 Corvette is an easily duplicated vehicle that can be created either through the purchase of components from the RKSport catalog; or through RKSport who will contract with one of its outside vendors to build your Corvette. Whatever method you select, the RK5 Corvette is an impressive machine, taking the now-venerable current Corvette one giant step beyond. Our only question? What's next?